Former Falcon Younghoe Koo Gets Second Chance with Giants

Former Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo is reportedly in line for his first start since being released by his former team in September. The former Falcon is reportedly “very ready” for his opportunity on Sunday, should the New York Giants call on him to kick.

Now it appears that Koo will be getting that shot.

“I would assume it’s going to be Koo,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said, via Jordan Rannan of ESPN.

Starter Graham Gano popped up on their injury report this week with a neck injury, and that ailment will hold him out of this game.

Koo, who was released by the Falcons after his Week 1 miss against the Tampa Buccaneers. He was then engaged in a kicking competition ahead of their Week 2 road trip to Minnesota, but newcomer Parker Romo won. The longtime Falcon was released after Romo connected on all five of his attempts in that game.

Koo later signed with the Giants before their Week 4 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, but had not made it off of their practice squad since joining them. The 38-year-old Gano was dealing with a groin injury at the time.

The Giants had also signed Jude McAtammney, and the two had a competition for Gano’s vacated role. McAtammney won the position but was largely ineffective as the starter. He made two short kicks, but was later waived after missing a pair of extra points in a 33-32 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 7.

Koo, who is a career 85.8, will look to return to form in Week 10 in Chicago. He had four reliable seasons in Atlanta, but a shaky 2024 was enough to push the Falcons towards finding a new option.

Romo, whom the Falcons settled on in Week 2, has since been released by the Falcons. He missed a critical extra point in the team’s Week 9 24-23 loss to the Patriots and was released on Tuesday.

The Falcons opted to bring in veteran kicker Zane Gonzalez to take on the team’s responsibilities for the remainder of the season. He has a career average of 71.4% over his 44 career games, but he was 5-of-7 on kicks in 2024.

Koo and Romo combined to connect on 76.5% of their attempts, good for 26th in the NFL through the first nine weeks of the season.

Atlanta will be left hoping that Gonzalez is the option that finally sticks.